Annual Report 2011 - ACEM

standards and create a process
whereby non-fellows can be embraced
within the ACEM structure.
To achieve these aims, College
Executive has given in principle
approval to the formation of a new
committee: the Pre-Hospital and
Retrieval Committee. The proposal
includes working closely with the
Board of Education and strengthening
links with the UK group.
A series of face-to-face meetings has
now been planned to commence the
large amount of work required. It will
be a challenging time as we embark
upon this exciting task.
As always my thanks to the current
and past members who work
tirelessly in this high intensity area
of our specialty.
Garry Wilkes, Chair
Quality Management
Subcommittee
2011 has been an active year for the
Quality Management Subcommittee.
Work continues with both the Royal
Australian and New Zealand College
of Radiologists and the Royal College
of Pathologists of Australasia for the
development of joint college guidelines
for medical imaging and pathology
ordering from the emergency
department. It is hoped that some
preliminary guidelines will be available
late in 2011 on the ACEM website.
In May 2011 the Subcommittee met
in Melbourne for an all day workshop.
The group reviewed quality indicators
used in Canadian and United Kingdom
emergency departments, as well as
the new ACHS emergency medicine
indicators. The result was a major
revision of P28 Policy on Quality
Management in Emergency Medicine,
now renamed P28 ‘Policy on a
Quality Framework for Emergency
Departments’. The policy recommends
that all EDs should have a quality
framework and designated quality
team. A balanced quality program
is recommended for EDs, with
elements drawn from the following
fi ve areas; clinical, education and
training, research, administration and
professional profi le of the department.
It is anticipated that this revised policy
will form the basis for EDs moving
towards measuring the quality of the
care delivered in their department,
rather than the purely time-based
parameters of emergency care.
The Quality Management
Subcommittee contributed to the
development of the new ACHS
‘Clinical indicators for emergency
medicine’, released in July 2011. This
saw an expansion of the number of
emergency medicine indicators from 9
to 21, with an increased emphasis on
quality indicators.
The Subcommittee submitted a
proposal to Standards for a specialtyspecifi
c incident monitoring project, in
conjunction with the Australian Patient
Safety Foundation. This would see the
development of an online incident
monitoring tool for Australasian
EDs, and would aim to inform future
research and education in patient
safety in emergency medicine.
Carmel Crock, Chair
Trauma Subcommittee
Entering into its sixth year of
existence, the Subcommittee has laid
foundations for future growth and
development in the different aspects
of trauma management to optimise
patient outcomes.
From an educational perspective for
the College trainees, a trauma tool
kit, which identifi es key learning areas
in trauma for advanced trainees, will
shortly be available on the College
website for reference.
Trauma simulation is another valuable
educational tool that can enhance
team cohesion and performance.
It is currently used in the tertiary
centres and major teaching centres.
The Subcommittee encourages active
participation by all trainees and
Fellows.
In collaboration with the Royal
Australasian College of Surgeons,
members have generously contributed
to the trauma verifi cation process –
a comprehensive review encompassing
all aspects of trauma care that assists
the institution involved to ‘benchmark’
their trauma service. This especially
ensures that the interests of
emergency medicine are taken into
account. In this vein, the Trauma
Subcommittee would like to highly
recommend FACEM representation
and participation in hospital trauma
committees.
Ezila Kapilan, Chair
Workforce Subcommittee
The Workforce Subcommittee
continued to work on workforce
planning this year. A review of the
present standing of the Guideline
on Workforce Construction was
completed. There was no additional
research or evidence found to
necessitate change to the formulae
in the guideline.
Work continued on the data analysis
from the College in relation to the
longitudinal study on workforce
(Fellows). A questionnaire has
been developed to supplement data
already stored. Data extraction has
been problematic, but some results
should be available by the end of the
year. Based on this, a modifi cation
to the annual subscription renewal
will be made to better track Fellows
throughout their career.
Chris May, Chair
ACEM Annual Report 2011
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